Broadgate Mainland's 2013 Digital Trends Survey found twice as many journalists now use digital means, such as Twitter or LinkedIn, to find story ideas or news tip-offs.

More than 80 per cent of the journalists quizzed for the study said they had sourced stories on social media in the past year, with 22 per cent saying that they sourced content via digital means on a daily basis.

Nearly half (45 per cent) of journalists said they would be happy to receive corporate news via Twitter, though email remains the preferred channel for being contacted by PR professionals (87 per cent).

The survey, conducted in May and June this year, researched the views of both financial services journalists and in-house PR professionals.

The study also found more than 40 per cent of journalist respondents agreed the pressures of digital journalism were forcing them to rely more on PR-generated releases.

Mark Knight, director at Broadgate Mainland, said: 'The speed with which stories can now spread from a tweet to international news means issues and crisis management has become a 24/7 activity.'